Monday, July 16, 2012

Well it is the time of year that Bentley Drivers Club hold there Annual Concours D'Elegance, and this year it was held in the gorgeous grounds of Boughton House in Kettering. The sun came out for once and made for a good day of sketching whilst members of the drivers club enjoyed their picnics.

8 Litre Bentley

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Sporting it's original grille this Bentley has been through a few different body shapes before the one it has today. It was pure fluke that I decided to crop the sketch just down to the grille area.

1947 Bentley Mark 6 Coachbuilt

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Winner of the Patina section this wonderful Mark 6 has a one off body built to the specifications of the original owner who (as described by the current owner) was a portly man had the body made slightly wider to make it more comfortable for him to drive.

1926 Bentley 3, 4 1/2

Vanden Plas Doctors Coupe

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Last sketch of the day was this wonderful Doctors Coupe, I love the idea of doctors driving around in this kind of vehicle.

1934 Bentley 3 1/2 Litre

This Bentley woodie was parked round the back of the marque, possibly my favourite of the show to be honest.

Great patina and umbrella holder.

1928 Bentley 6 1/2 litre

1952 R Type Continental

No information on this one I'm afraid, some incredible coach work though. I'm guessing that this is a modern build.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Dodging the raindrops I travelled to Shakespeare County Raceway, Avon Park, Long Marston.. whatever you prefer to call it (it seems to depend on how long you have attended meetings at the track), for the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals. Even though clashing events meant attendance was down a bit it was a great weekend with cars and bikes galore, sprinting down this historic drag strip. There are plenty more great evens happening at the Shakespeare County Raceway in the upcoming months, including the Bulldog Bash and the NSRA Hot Rod Drags. I'd urge you to go to at least one and support this great Drag Strip, for more information please visit their website:

As well as getting up to the usual sketching business I displayed work alongside the Raygun Industries folks, thanks to Tim and Paul for supporting all the artists on display. For more info on Raygun please visit their site, and I'd strongly advise buying a copy of their Raydar Magazine well worth the money.

Triumph Sprint Bike, 350 Supercharged

(digitally painted ink sketch)

First sketch of the weekend was this bargain of a sprint bike. The new owner had only just bought it for £1500 and it ran straight away. Apparently it hadn't been out of a shed for a while but there were no issues with it. Whilst sketching it the scrutineers actually said it was fine to run.

Flat Fenzy 2, flathead slingshot

(digitally painted ink sketch)

The second incarnation of this nostalgia slingshot, the tow car is a Chevy pickup with a great patina.

30s Dodge Pickup Hot Rod

The Alchemist, '33 Ford Coupe Gasser

Ever since seeing this incredible gasser in the May issue of Custom Car I've been hoping this would cross my path this year. There is so much attention to detail in this build, it was a joy to sketch.

Honky Tonkin II

(ink sketch)

I did this sketch based on an image in Custom Car before the event. Honky Tonkin II is an incredible gasser, immaculately kept and the quickest car in the Gasser Circus. Lee and Jerry have done such a great job on this car, and the performance really reflects the time and money these guys have put into it.

Soul Town Shakedown, slingshot

(digitally painted ink sketch)

I featured this in last years 1000 Bikes report as I came across this great slingshot at a service station on the way home. At last I had some time to sketch it, well almost as it had to go off for a run.

Here's a selection of the vehicles that attended, the camping field was just as interesting (if not a bit soggier) than the pits.

Lou's Cannon, Chevy Suburban Gasser

If it hadn't been raining so much on the Sunday this Gasser would have been next up.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Well I finally made it to Banbury after the third year of intention, and it was well worth it. Why? Well seeing that it's the largest veteran gathering in the world you can see why I was in my element. There were so many machines that I'd either been waiting to see or never even heard of before, it was just incredible to see so many wonderful machines 600 entries) gathered in one place, and for one sole purpose..... to be ridden.

1922 Wooler, 350cc

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Ridden by Robert Clark, this is a rare chain driven model and the only one known to the VMCC to have the optional earlier tank style. It was the unusual tank that initially drew me to this bike, but there are lots of other odd things going on too.

1912 / 13 ABC Brooklands 3 1/2 hp

(digitally painted ink sketch)

After seeing this bike at Stafford earlier this year I took the opportunity to sketch this fantastic Brooklands bike. Apparently the owner bought the engine from ebay and asked whether they had the frame, low and behold they did, and this early racer is now back out and about.

1913 Kynoch

(digitally painted ink sketch)

1923 Douglas TS/23

(ink sketch)

Last sketch of the day was of this prize winning Douglas. According the the programme the bike was bought for half a crown in 1936 by a doctor in WWII, and each issue of his petrol allowance is stamped in the logbook.

Here is a selection of the 600 entries, plus some other stuff of interest.

1913 Wall Autowheel

New Hudson Autocycle in the Autojumble

1922 Calthorpe Two Stroke

1917 Excelsior, American Army

All original paint.

1930 Gnome-Rhone, M1

1930 Frera R.C.

1914 Ixion, model A

1923 Nimbus model A

The Nimbus Company still exist making vacuum cleaners. 1200 of these model A machines were made and they were commonly known by the nickname "The Stovepipe"

1915 Harley Davidson 11F outfit

1922 Norton 16H Sports & Sidecar

1927 McEvoy JAP Outfit

1929 Beardmore Precision

1912 Triumph TT Roadster

1904 Rex 3hp

1925 Ner-A-Car model C

1913 Velocette model A

1924 Cotton, Blackburne in front of Rick's Rex Acme

1924 Montgomery Anzani V Twin

1903 Quadrant Banking Tricycle

Bond Mini Car (found in the car park)

Some of the sketches from this event can be found in my recently published Sketchbook of motorcycles which can be bought at my Big Cartel Store (Click Link Below)